form he gave two names, a generic and a specific. Thus 

 the common cat is called Fells doinestica and the lion F. 

 leo, while the dog is Cants familiaris. To these binom- 

 ial designations it is customary to add the abbreviated name 

 of the person who first used them. So the full scientific 

 name of the cat is Felis domestica Linn. 



The systematic work of Linnaeus was continued by his 

 followers and great collections were built up which had an 

 increasing value as time went on, for sometimes doubt would 

 arise as to the real identity of a form or whether forms de- 

 scribed under different names were not after all the same. 

 In such cases the necessity of comparing the original speci- 

 mens, or types, is obvious. In order to care properly for 

 natural history collections and render them easily accessible 

 museums were formed and of course the arrangement of the 

 museums was "systematic," i. e. according to the scheme or 

 system of classification adopted. 



The chief aim of biology at this time was to name and 

 file away the largest possible number of forms. Structure 

 vs^as carefully studied so far as it contributed to this end but, 

 unfortunately, the investigation was considered complete as 

 soon as the specimen was mounted and labeled. Museums 

 were indispensable tools of science in this period and served 

 as books of reference do in our libraries. 



The publication in 1859 of Darwin's Origin of Species 

 checked the scramble after new species and stimulated a 

 search for more fundamental principles in biology. Field and 

 museum alike were searched for evidence of variation and 

 complaints began to arise because museum collections were 

 inadequate for such studies. Hitherto museums had ')een 

 quite content with a few duplicates of convenient specimens 

 and the forms which varied from the type had been an un- 

 mitigated nuisance to naturalists because of the difficulty of 

 classifying them. Now, not only are many duplicates de- 

 sired for study of variations but adaptations of every descrip- 

 tion, homologies, and life-histories are eagerly sought and 



